Atonement (2007)

The film Atonement is based on the 2001 Ian McEwan novel of the same name. It begins in the summer of 1935 on the gigantic English country estate of the Talis family. When a 13-year-old aspiring writer, Briony Talis, accuses the gardener's son, Robbie, of a crime he didn't commit, it changes the lives of several people forever. This includes Briony's sister Celia, who had just admitted her love for Robbie the same evening.

Christopher Hampton had the daunting task of turning the 371 page story into a 2 hour film. Unfortunately, he is unable to capture everything that would have made this a truly captivating movie. The first part of the film sets everything up for and includes the accusation. It is long even in the book and requires a lot of patience, but is vital to the rest of the story. Of special note is Saoirse Ronan's portrayal of Briony with depth that you don't often find in such young actors; you can practically see thoughts forming in her head. Her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination was truly deserved and even with her unsympathetic self-centered, and self-created, drama, she's the highlight of the film's beginning.

After that the story moves ahead 4 years to WWII and the pace picks up tenfold; we're left with a beautiful-looking film, but due to the severe trimming of the story, we lose our emotional attachments to Ceilia and Robbie and even some of our anger at Briony. The whole event doesn't seem as tragic anymore. It's as if director Joe Wright, was too focused on making the impressive, 5 minute-tracking shot on the beach mentioned in everyone's reviews. The actors definitely try to revive the emotions with what they've been given though. Keira Knightley as Celia is sad and resentful, but trying to cope with the poor cards she's been dealt as a nurse in London. Romola Garai steps in as an older Briony, meekly undertaking the huge task of seeking atonement and making things alright again. And James McAvoy does the best of all with the brooding Robbie who has lost too much, taking a position in the army to escape more jail time.

I'll discuss more about the ending in the extended review below, but here I will say this: It still makes you question what you've seen, but the way the book did it was much more dramatic and poignant and I don't see why they had to change that too... other than to give more for Vanessa Redgrave to say out loud.

Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: Cinematographers and people over 18 who'd like to stare at beautiful things for two hours. Read the book.

Extended review: At the end, an off-camera journalist is interviewing a much older Briony about her new novel, Atonement. During that time, she reveals everything we saw from four years after the original incident to now are part of her book. It's a shock in the movie, but since the film lost the emotional buy-in during those fictional events, it's difficult to care. Vanessa Redgrave's performance sweeps in and brings some emotion again in that you see how much regret Briony feels. But this has all been Briony's childlike attempt to make things right. It didn't.

Celia and Robbie die young without rejoining and without ever knowing that Briony has realized her mistake. So while you find yourself questioning just what happened, the film shows you a scene of what could have been - Celia and Robbie frolicking on the beach. It just makes things more confusing though, especially if you're not familiar with the book. It's a "Wait. But I thought they were dead..." moment. In other words, the film tries to tug at your heart strings with tragedy once more, but instead just loses the viewer.